BJP MLA Sangeet Som, an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, has been accorded Z-plus security following regular intelligence inputs about a threat to his life.

Som was accused by the Uttar Pradesh police of uploading a video, which reportedly sparked communal tension in Muzaffarnagar, where 65 people were killed in September last year.

“This is one of the cases where we have decided to accord security purely on merit and not due to any political intervention. Intelligence agencies have several phone intercepts wherein extreme outfits and individuals are making plans to kill Som. We are not going into the legal cases slapped on him by the UP police. Irrespective of that, he has a threat to his life,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

A high-level security committee under the Ministry of Home Affairs, comprising IB officials, decided to grant the security status to Som recently. One of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be assigned the responsibility.

“We are yet to decide on which CAPF will be given the responsibility, but it will definitely be a central force. On many occasions we request the state government to accord security on our behalf, but this time, we cannot take a chance. The details are still being chalked out,” the official said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who recently reviewed the security status of VIPs, gave the nod to the proposal after he was convinced that Som faced serious threat to his life.